Inspection at rice mill godown

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, April 8

Alarmed over the bungling of government paddy by a sheller in Jandiala Guru, officials of the Department of Food and Civil Supplies have started verification of the rice shellers in the state to unearth irregularities, if any. The inspection has been started on the directions of the state government, it has been learnt.

A team of the department from Chandigarh inspected godowns of the Punjab Basmati Rice Mill located on the Tarn Taran road on Sunday. Officials were tight-lipped over the outcome of the inspection which continued till late evening.

“The step has been taken to unearth embezzlement, if any, of government paddy by rice millers as there have been complaints against several shellers,” said an official preferring not to be named. He said the final report of the inspections would be handed over to the Director of the Food and Civil Supplies for necessary action.

Meanwhile, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Youth Front president Gurmeet Singh Bablu alleged that there had been a bungling of paddy in another prominent rice sheller in the district. He alleged that officials of the Pungrain and District Food and Civil Supplies had deliberately failed to provide information to him under RTI Act regarding the government paddy stored in the said rice sheller in stipulated period.

“They are deliberately delaying the information in order to save the rice sheller who is very influential in the region. The rice sheller has the capacity of around 75,000 bags but according to information the department issued 4 lakh paddy bags to it in violation of the norms. Now, I have sought the information from the Pungrain Board, Punjab,” he added.

Another RTI activist, Varun Sareen, too, has accused the department of siphoning off government paddy.

Activist alleges irregularities

Gurmeet Singh Bablu, who heads a social organisation, has accused a rice sheller of bungling government paddy. He says food and civil supplies officials are hand in glove as “they have been delaying action on an RTI query” filed by him only to save themselves and the rice sheller in question.